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Written Answers

Thursday 19 June 2008

Belfast Agreement: Ethnicity

Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 13 May (WA 119) about use of “ethnicity” in the Belfast Agreement of 1998, who is responsible for defining an individual's ethnicity. [HL3699]

Lord Rooker: Any ruling on the meaning or proper interpretation of the relevant sections of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 or the Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 would be for tribunals or courts to make in the event of a complaint or legal action.

Consumer Credit

Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will include controls on consumer credit in the proposed savings gateway Bill announced in their draft legislative programme for 2008-09; and [HL3873]

What plans they have to include controls on excessive lending to vulnerable customers in the proposed banking reform Bill, announced in their draft legislative programme for 2008-09; and [HL3874]

What representations they have recently received about the control of credit and bank loans being managed by instruments other than interest rates. [HL3876]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Baroness Vadera): There are no plans to include controls on lending to customers in the proposed banking reform or saving gateway Bills.

In 2004 the Government put in place Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulation of mortgages. The FSA's regime offers appropriate consumer protection—for example, by requiring that firms satisfy themselves that a mortgage commitment is affordable. The OFT regulates other consumer credit business. Regulation of consumer credit is being further strengthened with the implementation of the Consumer Credit Act 2006, due to be completed by October 2008. This Act has, among other measures, strengthened the OFT's ability to investigate and take action against firms which lend irresponsibly. The OFT will bring forward guidance on irresponsible lending later this year.

The Government maintain a regular dialogue with the financial services industry and other interested parties with the aim of promoting responsible lending practices. For example, BERR has established an expert working group to examine proposals to enable lenders to share more data on historic credit accounts, with the aim of preventing at-risk consumers becoming overindebted.

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Crime: Burglary

Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many burglaries have been recorded in each of the past three years in south Belfast; how many people have been convicted for these offences; and what are the statistical trends in this area in relation to the sentencing level for multiple offences. [HL3999]

Lord Rooker: Table 1 gives the number of burglary offences recorded in south Belfast police district command unit, while table 2 gives the number of convictions relating to the same area. Data in tables 1 and 2 should not however be compared, for three reasons. First, data in table 1 refer to the DCU in which the burglary was recorded, while table 2 refers to the DCU in which an offender's address falls. Secondly, an offence recorded as burglary may subsequently be prosecuted on a different basis—eg, as theft. Thirdly, conviction data are collated on the principal offence rule, where only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.

Because of the principal offence rule, it is not possible to identify those offenders convicted of multiple offences of burglary and any subsequent sentencing trends. It is only possible to give sentencing information for those offenders for whom burglary was the principal offence.

Table 1 covers the financial years 2005-06 to 2007-08, while table 2 covers the calendar years 2004 to 2006 (the latest available years).

The Government are giving particular attention to the problem of burglary in Northern Ireland. In 2007-08, a total of 11,698 burglary offences were recorded by police in Northern Ireland, which represents a net 37 per cent drop in the level of burglary since 2002-03 (when 18,659 offences were recorded). During the same period, the number of domestic burglaries recorded by the police decreased by 34 per cent, from 10,125 to 6,712. These reductions largely correspond with the timing of a NIO PSA target to reduce the recorded level of domestic burglary between 2001-02 and 2006-07, the final outturn of which showed levels of burglary down 25 per cent, well ahead of the 15 per cent target.

Table 1: Number of burglary offences recorded in south Belfast police district command unit 2005-06 to 2007-08
Year	Number recorded
2005-06	1,242
2006-07	1,188
2007-08	1,241
Source:PSNI, Central Statistics Unit

Table 2: Number of convictions, method of disposal and the average immediate custodial sentence length (in months) for burglary for south Belfast police district command unit 2004-20061
	2004	2005	2006
Number of convictions	25	35	20
1. Average sentence lengths exclude those justice centre order
Source: NIO, Statistics and Research Branch

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Data Loss: Police Inquiries

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass asked Her Majesty's Government:

What audit trails are in place for material handed over by the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC or the Police Service of Northern Ireland to inquiries that are being or have been conducted. [HL3863]

Lord Rooker: The PSNI has strict security arrangements in place with the independent public inquiries. Depending on the level of classification of the documentation, the material is either hand-delivered or sent via courier or recorded delivery, with the relevant inquiry signing and confirming receipt of all documents. I am informed that the inquiries also maintain records of documents they receive.

e-Borders

Baroness Hanham asked Her Majesty's Government:

What were the Government's estimates for the total cost of the e-borders programme when the project received initial ministerial approval; and what they are now. [HL4139]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The strategic benefits endorsed by David Blunkett in the White Paper Secure Borders, Safe Haven in February 2002 led to the formation of the e-borders programme. Initial estimates in November 2003 of the costs for this were £959 million, with possible further contingency costs to a maximum of £1.336 billion, which included both capital and resource costings. Current forecasts for the total cost of the e-borders programme are £1.2 billion.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 19 March (WA 44) and 21 April (WA 233-34), why outgrowing mouse embryos have been used as a model of implantation in published studies if the intrinsic nature of outgrowing embryos is to lack potential and be unable to develop if implanted; and [HL3992]

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 2 June (WA 10), at what point an outgrowing embryo either ceases to be living, ceases to be human or ceases to be an embryo; and what criteria are used by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority during an inspection to determine that this point has been reached within 14 days; and [HL3993]

Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Morgan of Drefelin on 14 May (WA 135), why the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has authorised the culture of whole human embryos beyond 14 days to form outgrowths for the creation of stem cells. [HL3994]

19 Jun 2008 : Column WA178

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): Applications for embryo research licences are considered by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's (HFEA) Research Licence Committee (which will refer to advice from the authority's Scientific and Clinical Advances Group). It will consider whether the proposed method for embryo culture and stem cell derivation complies with Sections 3(3)(a) and (4) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1900 (HFE Act).

When human embryos are allowed to attach to the surface of a culture dish and outgrow their structure, it is not a breach of Sections 3(3)(a) and (4) of the HFE Act 1990.

The HFEA has not licensed the use of mouse embryos as a model of implantation regarding this issue. When considering this issue, the HFEA's Scientific and Clinical Advances Group found no published studies regarding the transfer of these outgrowing entities to the womb of any mammal. The view of the group was that the aim of culturing cells in this way is to attempt to create stem cell lines and there is consensus among the scientific community that it is not possible for these entities to achieve a pregnancy.

Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 5 December 2007 (WA 195—96) and 18 December 2007 (WA 116—17) and his letter dated 14 January 2008, what protocol has been developed following more regular reviews of egg collection data by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority; and what concerns have been raised with the General Medical Council. [HL3995]

Lord Darzi of Denham: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has committed to carrying out a review of all information it collects from centres, particularly to take account of the implications of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. As part of this it expects to have a protocol complete by December 2008. The HFEA has a Memorandum of Understanding with the General Medical Council, but has not to date reported any concerns.

Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 5 December 2007 (WA 195—96) and 18 December 2007 (WA 116—17) and his letter dated 14 January, what proportion of eggs were used in either research or egg-sharing arrangements at each of the respective licensed centres where between 20 and 85 eggs were retrieved from women per in vitro fertilisation cycle. [HL4031]

Lord Darzi of Denham: The information requested is not collected centrally nor held by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. Information giving the percentage of eggs donated to research and to egg-sharing arrangements is shown in the following table.

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Data on eggs donated to research or egg sharing arrangements where between 20-85 eggs were collected (1) (2) (3)
Centre code	Name	Cycles where at least 1 egg has been collected	Cycles where 20 - 85 eggs have been collected	Patients where 20 - 85 eggs have been collected in a single cycle	Percentage of all egg collections where 20 - 85 eggs were collected	Egg share cycles where 20 - 85 eggs have been collected	Percentage of cycles where 20 - 85 eggs were collected that were egg share cycles	Total eggs collected in egg share cycles where between 20 and 85 eggs were collected	Eggs donated for treatment of others in egg share cycles where between 20 and 85 eggs were collected	Percentage of eggs collected in egg share cycles (where 20 - 85 eggs were collected) that were donated for the treatment of other patients	Total eggs collected in cycles where between 20 and 85 eggs were collected and some were donated to research	Eggs donated for research where between 20 and 85 eggs were collected	Percentage of eggs collected in cycles where 20 - 85 eggs were collected and some were donated to research
0003	The BUPA Roding Hospital	76	1	1	1.3%	0	++	0	0	++	0	0	++
0004	Ninewells Hospital	2565	163	155	6.4%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0005	Peninsular Centre for Reproductive Medicine	985	66	57	6.7%	11	16.7%	282	134	47.5%	0	0	++
0006	The Lister Fertility Clinic	8390	634	563	7.6%	50	7.9%	1143	670	58.6%	0	0	++
0007	Hewitt Centre for Reproductive Medicine	5717	379	357	6.6%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0008	Midland Fertility Services	4079	492	450	12.1%	60	12.2%	1558	730	46.9%	20	10	++
0013	Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Coventry	2330	183	172	7.9%	1	0.5%	31	16	++	0	0	++
0015	Sussex Downs Fertility Centre	675	41	40	6.1%	0	++	0	0	++	0	0	++
0016	CARE Northampton	2295	137	127	6.0%	16	11.7%	389	204	52.4%	0	0	++
0017	Newcastle Fertility Centre at Life	3314	306	256	9.2%	9	2.9%	217	91	41.9%	177	37	20.9%
0019	Aberdeen Fertility Centre	2053	91	88	4.4%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0021	Hull IVF Unit	1350	117	107	8.7%	4	3.4%	97	48	49.5%	0	0	++
0024	Centre for Reproductive Medicine, University of Bristol	3336	185	170	5.5%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0025	University Hospital Aintree	387	5	5	1.3%	0	++	0	0	++	0	0	++
0026	BMI Priory Hospital	1690	104	96	6.2%	10	9.6%	212	102	48.1%	0	0	++
0028	BMI Ross Hall Hospital	449	33	32	7.3%	0	++	0	0	++	0	0	++
0030	Herts and Essex Fertility Centre	3252	315	280	9.7%	11	3.5%	324	160	49.4%	0	0	++
0031	Hartlepool General Hospital	406	4	4	1.0%	0	++	0	0	++	0	0	++
0032	Southmead Hospital	369	55	44	14.9%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0033	Manchester Fertility Services LTD	2068	227	208	11.0%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0035	Oxford Fertility Unit	4693	355	315	7.6%	88	24.8%	2218	391	17.6%	0	0	++
0037	Glasgow Royal Infirmary	3735	277	255	7.4%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0044	UCH London	1776	111	102	6.3%	2	1.8%	54	27	50.0%	68	4	5.9%
0049	IVF Wales	2002	144	132	7.2%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0052	Clarendon Wing - Leeds	6216	1160	1013	18.7%	2	0.2%	41	31	++	43	25	++
0055	The James Cook University Hospital	1409	48	47	3.4%	1	++	20	13	++	0	0	++
0057	Wessex Fertility Limited	2085	162	153	7.8%	10	6.2%	227	123	54.2%	0	0	++
0058	Edinburgh Assisted Conception Unit	706	23	23	3.3%	0	++	0	0	++	0	0	++
0059	London Women's Clinic, Swansea	1482	99	81	6.7%	56	56.6%	1310	688	52.5%	0	0	++
0061	CARE Sheffield	2155	21	21	1.0%	7	++	149	82	55.0%	0	0	++
0063	Assisted Conception Unit, St James' University Hospital - Leeds	3444	627	532	18.2%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0064	The Chiltern Hospital Fertility Services Unit	753	69	63	9.2%	11	15.9%	292	136	46.6%	0	0	++
0065	Salford Royal IVF and Fertility Centre	175	7	7	4.0%	0	++	0	0	++	0	0	++
0067	St Mary's Hospital	3119	346	322	11.1%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	141	22	15.6%
0068	Leicester Fertility Centre	992	68	67	6.9%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0069	Middle England Fertility Centre	380	14	14	3.7%	0	++	0	0	++	0	0	++
0070	The Bridge Centre	6102	209	190	3.4%	14	6.7%	313	199	63.6%	0	0	++
0071	CARE Wirral	196	6	6	3.1%	2	++	46	23	++	0	0	++
0073	The Portland Hospital Fertility Unit	345	7	7	2.0%	0	++	0	0	++	0	0	++
0074	Cromwell IVF and Fertility Centre, London	1489	184	162	12.4%	94	51.1%	2269	1147	50.6%	0	0	++
0075	London Women's Clinic, Darlington	999	157	124	15.7%	95	60.5%	2333	1157	49.6%	0	0	++
0076	NURTURE	1931	124	110	6.4%	31	25.0%	721	361	50.1%	0	0	++
0077	Regional Fertility Centre, Belfast	4749	362	326	7.6%	3	0.8%	78	38	48.7%	0	0	++
0078	IVF Hammersmith	5308	396	360	7.5%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	128	19	14.8%
0082	Newham General	256	8	8	3.1%	3	++	64	32	50.0%	0	0	++
0086	BMI Chelsfield Park ACU	1858	259	214	13.9%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0088	London Fertility Centre	3387	473	421	14.0%	3	0.6%	74	58	78.4%	0	0	++
0094	The Centre for Reproductive Medicine	3295	143	141	4.3%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0100	Bourn Hall Clinic	4845	463	434	9.6%	21	4.5%	523	268	51.2%	0	0	++
0101	CARE Nottingham	5716	404	366	7.1%	57	14.1%	1312	651	49.6%	0	0	++
0102	Guys Hospital	4093	509	453	12.4%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0105	London Women's Clinic	1459	118	102	8.1%	26	22.0%	623	317	50.9%	0	0	++
0109	Assisted Conception Unit, King's College Hospital	3420	484	416	14.2%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0115	Glasgow Nuffield Hospital	1550	75	73	4.8%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	25	2	++
0119	Birmingham Women's Hospital	2648	379	348	14.3%	68	17.9%	1777	878	49.4%	0	0	++
0133	The Winterbourne Hospital	1234	66	63	5.3%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0139	Bath Fertility Clinic	1482	192	159	13.0%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0143	London Female And Male Fertility Centre	251	24	21	9.6%	0	++	0	0	++	0	0	++
0144	The Woking Nuffield Hospital	2054	173	160	8.4%	4	2.3%	102	50	49.0%	0	0	++
0148	Shropshire and Mid-Wales Fertility Centre	473	64	56	13.5%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0153	Homerton University Hospital	903	17	16	1.9%	0	++	0	0	++	0	0	++
0157	Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre	3788	552	502	14.6%	1	0.2%	33	11	++	0	0	++
0158	Chelsea & Westminster Hospital	1717	115	104	6.7%	1	0.9%	30	10	++	0	0	++
0161	BMI The Chaucer Hospital	1365	100	90	7.3%	3	3.0%	73	37	50.7%	0	0	++
0164	The Hampshire Clinic	132	7	7	5.3%	0	++	0	0	++	0	0	++
0165	Brentwood Fertility Centre	1177	50	45	4.2%	13	26.0%	308	152	49.4%	0	0	++
0170	Centre for Assisted Reproduction, Gateshead	748	75	61	10.0%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0174	Wolverhampton Assisted Conception Unit	139	36	34	25.9%	1	++	28	9	++	0	0	++
0177	Diana, Princess of Wales Centre for Repro Medicine	703	77	69	11.0%	5	6.5%	110	47	42.7%	0	0	++
0179	South West Centre for Reproductive Medicine	1032	84	79	8.1%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0180	Willow Suite, Thames Valley Nuffield Hospital	608	15	15	2.5%	0	++	0	0	++	0	0	++
0181	ACU, Lifestyle Sandy Lane Clinic	412	35	35	8.5%	0	++	0	0	++	0	0	++
0184	Burton Hospitals NHS Trust	894	56	50	6.3%	9	16.1%	244	120	49.2%	0	0	++
0185	CARE Manchester	2876	372	318	12.9%	112	30.1%	2826	1454	51.5%	0	0	++
0186	The Harley Street Fertility Centre	1258	98	93	7.8%	2	2.0%	42	13	++	0	0	++
0188	Isis Fertility Centre	947	28	27	3.0%	3	++	67	33	49.3%	0	0	++
0196	Centre for Reproductive Medicine and Fertility, Sheffield	1362	19	18	1.4%	2	++	44	21	++	0	0	++
0197	Salisbury Fertility Centre	188	35	33	18.6%	11	++	285	142	49.8%	0	0	++
0198	St Jude's Women's Hospital	366	64	57	17.5%	1	1.6%	36	16	++	0	0	++
0199	CRM London	822	92	86	11.2%	43	46.7%	1015	503	49.6%	0	0	++
0200	Origin Fertility Care	409	29	28	7.1%	0	++	0	0	++	0	0	++
0201	Edinburgh Assisted Conception Unit	1639	91	84	5.6%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	215	33	15.3%
0206	Reproductive Genetics Institute	1542	119	108	7.7%	0	0.0%	0	0	++	0	0	++
0208	South East Fertility Clinic	250	26	25	10.4%	2	++	42	20	++	0	0	++

Source: Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

Notes:

1. Data as at 9 June 2008.

2. Data on egg sharing and eggs donated for research have been routinely collected from 1 April 1999 only. The above data cover the period 2000-05 inclusive.

3.++ percentages are not given where there are less than 50 cycles or eggs.

Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:

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